Hilla Limann

Hilla Limann was a Ghanaian diplomat and politician who was President of Ghana from 24 September 1979 until he was overthrown on 31 December 1981, the only President of the Third Republic.

Early life and education

He was born Hilla Babini on 12 December 1934 in Gwollu, in the Sissala area of today's Upper West Region, and finished middle school at the Government Middle School in Tamale in 1949. He studied political science at the London School of Economics from 1957 to 1960, took a diploma in French at the Sorbonne and a BA in history from the University of London, and earned a PhD in political science and constitutional law from the University of Paris.

Diplomat

He headed the Europe desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1965 to 1968 and sat on the commission that drafted the 1969 constitution. He then served as head of chancery at the embassy in Lomé, from 1968, and as counsellor at Ghana's mission in Geneva, from 1971, before returning in 1975 to head the ministry's Europe, Americas and Southeast Asia desk.

President

When the Supreme Military Council disqualified Imoru Egala, Limann became the candidate of the Nkrumahist People's National Party in the 1979 election. He won the run-off with 62 per cent and was sworn in on 24 September 1979, when Jerry John Rawlings's Armed Forces Revolutionary Council handed over power. An economic moderate and Pan-Africanist, he refused to detain former AFRC members without legal grounds despite intelligence warnings. On 31 December 1981 Rawlings overthrew him.

Later life

When multiparty politics returned in 1992 he founded the People's National Convention and stood for President, coming third with 6.7 per cent. He remained active in the Nkrumahist movement.

Death

He died of natural causes on 23 January 1998 and was buried at Gwollu on 1 March 1998. He was survived by his wife, Fulera, and seven children. The Hilla Limann Foundation was launched in his memory in 2019.